Adding on to coop/run..questions!

[kimntep]

Relatively new to this and all is well with our 10 girls, but we have 13 babies that will be ready to introduce to the flock in another 2 months max and I think we need to add on to the run at least. We converted our daughter's playhouse (approx 8x10) into a coop..cement floor, hardy board, full size walk-thru door, 2 windows, nesting boxes and roosts inside. I use shavings on the floor and it just stays a mess. Will be rearranging roosts to accommodate boot trays underneath. (Should I use something else for floor cover?) The yard is attached to the front porch area of the house (approx 10x12) and we enter thru a full size screen door. My thought is to bust a hen-size walk-thru out the back wall and add on additional yard space and another screen door out back, but will we also need more covered or enclosed space? 8x10 doesn't seem like enough space for 23 ladies and they are such happy girls that I don't want to totally cramp their style when I introduce the youngins! Thanks, yall!

 

[Judy]

It depends on your climate. Up north where snow keeps them in for weeks, it is too small, IMO. In my climate it would be fine because they are only in the coop to sleep or lay, year round. Actually in my climate I would take the southern or western wall off and replace it with hardware cloth, plus have a good air intake on the opposite wall for aq cross breeze.

The usual rule of thumb on here is 23 hens = 92 sq ft in the coop and 230 sq ft in the run, but people who live in places where they get snowed in sometimes find this is not enough coop space to prevent pecking.